Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are aircraft that fly without onboard pilots. They rely on complete or partial automation for control during their takeoff, flight, and landing. UAVs have become increasingly popular but the logistical complexity of UAV control makes their use burdensome. UAV landings are typically done at locations having traditional landing aids such as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS), Very High Frequency Omnibearing Receivers (VOR), Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) Microware Landing Systems (MLS), RADAR, etc., which aid the remote pilot in landing the aircraft and/or provide for automated landings. However, it is often desirable to launch and land UAVs at locations where the infrastructure for traditional landing aids is not available, which limits the flexibility of the UAV. Additionally, landing aids that emit radio frequency energy have the further disadvantage of being easily targeted. The landing problem is exacerbated when the UAV is being landed on a moving structure, such as a ship, vehicle, or aircraft, because the existing landing aids are intended to be used on stationary structures and do not compensate for movement of the vehicle or structure on which the UAV is landing.